The present invention relates to a power driven, positive displacement combustion chamber for use in the production of steam, combustion gases, or mixtures of steam and combustion gases. One area of application for an apparatus of this type is in the production of crude oil. As the production of oil from a reservoir declines, a rate of production is reached at which further production of oil is no longer economical. Several methods have been utilized to stimulate the producing formations where crude oil is held to increase the rate of production to economic levels. Most of these methods require the use of large, expensive compression units to force an inert gas into the reservoir by injecting the gas under high pressure into the well. It has generally not been economical to stimulate production using such techniques on smaller wells or reservoirs or on wells with high downhole pressures because of the high capital and operating costs for the facilities required. At least part of the reason for those high operating costs is that such techniques are thermally inefficient, resulting in requirements for fuel which are disproportionate to the production. The inefficiency is also the result of the necessity for overcoming the downhole pressure to make it possible to inject the gas. The apparatus of the present invention overcomes many of these problems.
It is therefore, an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for supplying either steam, combustion gases, or mixtures of steam and combustion gases for use in enhanced oil recovery operations, or in any other application where these components are required. It is another object of the present invention to provide these mixtures without requiring the compression of large quantities of combustion air to high pressures. It is a further object of the present invention to provide a combustion chamber which can operate efficiently on a wide range of hydrocarbon fuels.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus capable of supplying mixtures of steam and combustion gases in amounts suitable for stimulation of production from small wells and reservoirs while at the same time of being capable of being expanded for use on larger wells.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a hydraulic powered combustion chamber which utilizes the waste heat energy from hydraulic pump, as well as the internal combustion engine used to power the air compressor and the intercooler on the air compressor, to preheat the hydraulic fluid and which mixes this preheated hydraulic fluid with the products of combustion, thus vaporizing the hydraulic fluid, increasing the volume of gases produced, and increasing thermal efficiency.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a combustion chamber which can utilize water, even though the water contains contaminants such as salts, as both hydraulic fluid and a source of steam, the operation of which is not impaired by those contaminants.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description of a presently preferred embodiment of the invention.